Medium complexity designs work well,
but consider the design size and
shape for appropriate draping. A large "block" of stitches will not drape well on the fabric when worn.

Why use cutaway stabilizer?

Earlier you read that cutaway stabilizer is
recommended, and that tear-away stabilizer is not
advised.

If using tear-away stabilizer, the needle
perforations weaken the stabilizer. Essentially it
tears away while embroidering, and while wearing and
washing, too. That leaves nothing behind to support
the fabric.

You may also experience thread tension issues when
using tear-away stabilizer, such as thread nesting,
knotting, and looping.

To demonstrate
the difference in quality, we embroidered a
simple design
onto a sweatshirt,
and used tear-away stabilizer.

Note the gaps, and how the fill is pulling
away from the satin stitches. This occurs
because the tear-away stabilizer gets weaker
and weaker as the needle penetrates it.

You can also see the
shirt is puckered. This will get worse
over time as the shirt is worn and
washed.

This is the same
design, on the sweatshirt. Cutaway
stabilizer was used, rather than tear-away.
There's no puckering, no shifting, no
gapping -- the results are picture-perfect.